The Gallery at Dunia Announces

Foot Fetishes
Soleful Sculptures by Gwen Murphy
July 1 through Sepember 20, 2008
Artist's Reception 2-5 PM Sunday, July 13

Foot Fetish #8
acrylics, paperclay, wooden last

(All photographs courtesy of Erik Hansen Photography.)

The Gallery at Dunia presents Foot Fetishes, a cast of characters sculpted from shoes by Acton artist Gwen Murphy.

Not content merely to elicit life from moribund footwear, Murphy uses the medium to portray the panoply of humanity, corns and all. Murphy masterfully plies acrylics, paperclay, and wood – as well as shoe leather – to shock, amuse and delight.

Foot Fetish #17
Foot Fetish #18
acrylics, paperclay, women's shoes

But there’s a more serious message afoot: Murphy has pledged 20% of all proceeds from Foot Fetishes sales to the Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing access to the highest quality health care for Boston’s homeless men, women and children. Dunia, for its part, will conduct a Sock and Flip-Flop Drive for the duration of the exhibit, soliciting donations of new, white cotton socks and rubber flip flops in all sizes for BHCHP to distribute.

Foot Fetish #13
Foot Fetish #14
acrylics, paperclay, wooden lasts

Murphy’s creations bristle with energy and personality. Seen side by side, her #17 and #18 (in an ironic touch, Gwen Murphy assigns numbers rather than titles to her idiosyncratic faces) evoke characters from a family reunion or a neighborhood pub: old friends talking over each other, gabbing pointlessly, both comfortable in their obliviousness.

Foot Fetish #12
acrylics, paperclay, wooden last

Murphy’s #19 and #20 don both Mardi Gras masks and a weary nonchalance; viewers must decide whether their destination is a masquerade or someplace darker. (The infamous party scene in Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut comes to mind.)

Foot Fetish #5
acrylics, paperclay, wooden last

More sinister still are #6 and #7, with their wingtipped-brogue supervillains’ hoods and fangs.

Foot Fetish #19
Foot Fetish #20
acrylics, paperclay, size 10 golf shoes

Gwen Murphy holds an MFA in Sculpture from Boston University College of Fine Arts and a BA in Fine Arts from New College in Sarasota, Florida.

Foot Fetish #10
Foot Fetish #11
acrylics, paperclay, wooden lasts

She has a lengthy list of exhibit credits, including shows at New York City’s Museum of Arts & Design, Danforth Museum Member’s Juried Show (Framingham MA), SOFA (Chicago IL), DeCordova Museum School Gallery (Lincoln MA) and ArtSpace Maynard, where she keeps her studio.

Foot Fetish #21
acrylics, paperclay, wooden lasts

From the Artist's Statement

Michelangelo said, "The foot is nobler than the shoe."

The foot is where the body meets the earth; it is what allows us to stand up straight and go places. The foot is crucial and very vulnerable. The shoe is its protector.

Foot Fetish #6
Foot Fetish #7
acrylics, paperclay, size 10 men's shoes

The right footwear can make us taller, make us sexier, make us feel like we can walk anywhere. The wrong footwear can make us miserable, make us twist an ankle, make us ridiculous.

Foot Fetish #15
Foot Fetish #16
acrylics, paperclay, wooden lasts

Since I was a very young child I have looked at shoes and found them looking back at me, each pair with its own personality and facial expression. I see a shoe as a kind of fetish - an object believed to have magical powers to protect or aid its owner - because a shoe has a presence, and the power to protect and transport us.

When shoes are lined up near a door or in a closet, they are trusty steeds, each waiting to serve a noble foot. Mouths yawning open, they sometimes look sleepy or grouchy; sometimes they look like they are singing. They are like a species of beings made entirely of pairs of identical twins.

This series of sculptures is my way of bringing forth the presence I see in each pair of shoes.

Gwen Murphy
June 2008

About the Artist

Gwen Murphy has been making sculpture for over twenty years. With an MFA in sculpture from Boston University's College of Fine Arts, and a BA in Fine Arts from New College of Florida, she has taught sculpture and drawing at the DeCordova Museum School, Emerson Umbrella Center for the Arts, and Acton-Boxborough Community Education. Her work includes sculpture, portraits and murals, and is found in collections across New England.

Gwen lives in Acton with her husband, her two children, their dog, Moxie, and their cat, Winkie.

The Gallery at Dunia and Gwen Murphy have pledged 20% of the proceeds from the sales of Foot Fetishes artwork to the Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program (www.bhchp.org), a non-profit whose mission is to provide and assure access to the highest quality health care for Boston's homeless men, women, and children.